Joe RitchHuntsville, Ala., attorney Joe Ritch has been re-elected for another two years as chair of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The 9-member TVA board today unanimously elected Ritch for another term as the chair of the federal utility even though his current term on the TVA board is scheduled to end in May. Ritch could serve until the end of the year, or until a replacement in confirmed by the U.S. Senate. But Ritch, a Democrat and the first Alabama director ever for TVA, is likely to be reappointed this year by the Obama White House.
Ritch is an attorney in the Alabama law firm of Sirote & Permutt where he has worked since 1982. He succeeded Bill Sansom as TVA chair two years ago.
Since then, the entire TVA board has been appointed by the Obama White House, including Richard Howorth, the former mayor of Oxford, Miss., who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a second TVA term in December.
Ritch was appointed to the TVA board by President Obama in 2012 and joined the board in early 2013. He also serves as chairman of the Tennessee Valley Base Realignment and Closures Committee, and is a board member for Axiometrics Inc. and the Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation. He is formerly a trustee with the University of Alabama system and is now a trustee emeritus. He also serves as a member of the Ohio State University School of Engineering external advisory committee.